The Pachang Creek (
Media reports over the past three days have overwhelmingly focused on the government's responsibility in the matter, but the occupational injury victims' groups believe the accident is a reflection of long-existing shortcomings in workplace safety.
"This incident could have been avoided, just as any other occupational injury," said Ku Yu-ling (
PHOTO: HSIEH YIN-CHUNG, LIBERTY TIMES
"The rapidly rising torrent was said to have caused the accident, but it can't explain everything. I think it's natural for everyone to ask `Could this have been avoided?'" Ku said.
"There must be some who are responsible for ensuring safety at the workplace. The contractor, for sure, has direct responsibilities, but I suspect he has very little money to compensate families of the dead workers," Ku said.
"This is not an isolated case at all. Such things happen in Taiwan from time to time where workers die of occupational injuries. It's just that the other cases haven't grabbed media and public attention," Ku said.
PHOTO: LIBERTY TIMES
The four workers were employed by the Yung-chiu Construction Company (
The projects, begun in May this year and to be completed by August, are deemed as urgent for the safety of residents living downstream. Pachang Creek has its source on Alishan and flows through Chaiyi County and Tainan County.
To meet the deadline, the projects have been carried out during the rainy season, a risky move.
"They worked under pretty risky conditions. Ten years ago, we had a staff member who died in a similar accident as the four workers," admitted Hung Lao-sheng (
Hung said the only safety measure is to have somebody upstream watching water conditions. If the water rises rapidly, the lookout is supposed to notify workers downstream.
"It only takes minutes for water to come down the steep creek bed, so it's very important the lookout report danger with precise accuracy," Hung said.
In the accident on Saturday afternoon, eight workers working in the lower riverbed were told to leave ahead of the raging floods. Only four escaped and the other four, who were reportedly required by the contractor to wrap up tools, were unfortunately stuck in the middle of the water and ultimately lost their lives.
Following the accident, prosecutors in Chiayi County have been investigating the liability of related authorities and the contracting company. Prosecutors yesterday interrogated the head of the construction company and the leader of the group of workers for the project.
Ku said that while the contractor may be held liable for his failure to ensure workplace safety, she believes the water conservancy agency should also be held responsible.
"It is not liable under the existing law, because they are not the workers' legal employers. But, I think it has absolute responsibility to make sure the workers work under safe circumstances," Ku said.
"You can't just pass all responsibilities to the contractors, who are either notoriously ruthless, or can't afford to take preventive measures," Ku said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS